Kinetics 8-speed SA fitting

[srw]

Before....

In the box...

A good solid touring rim.

Putting the wheel in the frame. A snug fit, and I had to file down one of the tabbed washers to get it to fit - it had overflowed its mould slightly.

Later this afternoon - finish putting the shifter on, and then the finishing touches. I'm on an extended lunch break so that I can play for a wedding.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

So good, so far.

 

[Flying Dodo]

Looking good.

It seems a better chain tensioner is now being used. Which is nice.

Something I forgot to mention on the other thread is that you may find the folding pedal doesn't fold so easily.

 

[Pale Rider]

Looks like a big cog for a hub gear, and a small ring on the front, which suggests some effort is being made to reduce the lowest gear.

Hopefully the lowest will be low enough, and the hub will have enough range for a suitable top gear.

 

[Melvil]

Can I ask what it cost and what the lowest gear is? Not that I have even got my B yet but 8 gears looks tasty

 

[bikegang]

Very nice, more hills to climb now..........

 

[srw]

For those who haven't been following the saga in a different thread, it's this kit.
http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/folding-bikes/brompton/brompton-8-speed-kit/

Progress has been slow this afternoon. This isn't entirely due to the couple of pints I drank after the wedding - having a beer shop between the church and the house coupled with the sunny afternoon is quite tempting.

Discovering that the old 3-speed shifter appears to be riveted on is frustrating. As is realising you can't see any way of moving the brake levers.

Gear cable finally fixed - a right faff. Neither the Kinetics instructions nor the SA instructions explain properly that there's a "business" part of the gizmo that slides onto notches, which guides the cable around a pulley to the fixing point, and something akin to a lock-ring, which you need to get perfectly aligned before it spins freely. Add to that the gear cables supplied being too long (which was in the instructions), not being able to lay my hands on my cable snippers (I think I know where they are now) and not yet having found the neat hole that helps in locating the cable end into the hub gear and I spent far too long on this bit.

I'm also replacing the stock Brompton rack (which has broken) which this very fetching Titanium and carbon number. Which was supplied with no instructions at all.

But is actually quite easy, if rather fiddly, to fit.

I really do need to sort those handlebars out. Not being able to move the brake lever is a bit of a constraint.

I also need to use a different chain. I shouldn't have listened to Evans when they told me I needed a standard Brompton chain rather than the 7-speed chain I asked for. As a result I've got massive slippage. Other than that, and the fact that I need to remove the wires to the rear dynamo light, it's basically working. Of course having no transmission is a rather unusual version of "basically working".

 

[srw]

Looks like a big cog for a hub gear, and a small ring on the front, which suggests some effort is being made to reduce the lowest gear.

Hopefully the lowest will be low enough, and the hub will have enough range for a suitable top gear.

Can I ask what it cost and what the lowest gear is? Not that I have even got my B yet but 8 gears looks tasty

Bottom gear is direct drive - so 33/20 in the set up as delivered. Which is a wall-climber with a 16" wheel. @GrumpyGregry and I rode together from Southend seafront to the station on our respective Bromptons. He was sitting and tiwddling gently on the bottom gear of his 8-speed. I was standing, straining and stomping hard on the bottom gear of my 3-speed.

 

[Pale Rider]

Bottom gear is direct drive - so 33/20 in the set up as delivered. Which is a wall-climber with a 16" wheel. @GrumpyGregry and I rode together from Southend seafront to the station on our respective Bromptons. He was sitting and tiwddling gently on the bottom gear of his 8-speed. I was standing, straining and stomping hard on the bottom gear of my 3-speed.

I've never ridden a Brompton which has what I consider to be a low enough first gear.

The conversion sounds like it does.

Hope the remaining fettling goes well - you have more patience than me.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

I want to see that rack!

 

[srw]

I want to see that rack!

You really don't want to know the price of the rack.... I got it through SJS, and I have to say that it is seriously good engineering.

[edit]
And although we've had a Torx spanner for a number of years, since we got a Rohloff-hubbed tandem, today was the first day I've had to use it in anger - the rack is supplied with Torx-headed bolts. One too few of the blasted things - there isn't one to attach the mudguard bracket, so that's bodged a bit.

More pictures tomorrow.

 

[raleighnut]

I can't really see the brake levers that well but going by the clamp that is visible there should be a clamp bolt but I bet you need to remove the brake cable to access it as it will be behind it (similar to how 'drop bar' levers attach)

 

[srw]

I can't really see the brake levers that well but going by the clamp that is visible there should be a clamp bolt but I bet you need to remove the brake cable to access it as it will be behind it (similar to how 'drop bar' levers attach)

Yup - thanks. I'm an experimenter, and tend to leave things well alone if they're not broken, so I've never needed to investigate before.

I want to see that rack!

Very elegant. The only slightly bodged bit is the connection to the mudguard at the back. As I said I can't find a short enough bolt to fix the (darker grey) bracket to the round bit that moves freely on the rear strut.

 

[srw]

Something's not right there. The chain (sold by Evans: https://www.evanscycles.com/brompton-1-2-x-3-32-inch-102-link-chain-plated-00102985) is stamped SRAM PC-10. Kinetics recommend a "narrow single speed chain such as an SRAM PC-1 or a 7/8 speed derailleur chain"

Google time. And to find out whether I need a new BB to match the cranks - there's more daylight than I would have expected.

 

[srw]

What size do you need?

A bolt to fit..

(Sorry - unhelpful, but accurate answer. No instructions with the kit.)